The 20-year-old has had to deal with the trauma of hurting herself and going blind as well as mild withdrawals from the drug. And her brother Jeremy was in the hospital at the same time, with life-threatening injuries from an auto accident a day after his sister's trauma.

Muthart had left home about two years ago to live with a boyfriend and had been living on the streets for six months. She was using methamphetamine, her mother said.

"She never wanted to be in that life anyway," Tompkins said.

Tompkins said tests on her daughter after the tragedy showed methamphetamine in her system, but the tests were inconclusive about any other substance that might have been added.

Tompkins said she nearly had her daughter committed involuntarily the weekend before the tragedy.

A few days later, it was Tompkins' 56th birthday, and there was no phone call from her daughter.

"I was a day too late," she said. "I could feel she was fighting it, but wasn't winning."

The day after Tompkins' birthday was when the tragedy happened. Tompkins, who has seven children, said it's something she never expected.

"You never imagine that one of your children will be homeless and be on meth, that never entered my mind," she said. "But Kaylee is strong. Something so tragic could help other people who are going down the path. This is what's in Kaylee's heart: She can't see, but she wants to help people. It's her amazing spirit."